The River Current ~ October 14, 2009 ~ Issue 99

The e-newsletter of the Charles River Watershed Association
...bringing our backyard river to your door...

 

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In this issue

1. River protection gutted by Patrick Administration
2. Public Meeting on Upper Charles TMDL
3. Champions of the Charles a success
4. Rail~volution conference
5. Greening the City conference

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1) CRWA, others resign after Patrick Administration guts legal protections for rivers

Today CRWA and three other environmental groups resigned their positions on MA DEP's Water Resources Management Advisory Committee after the Patrick Administration's reversal of its policy that protection of the environment, and specifically streamflow, was fundamental in determining water withdrawal limits for rivers.

The Committee is charged by statute to provide advice and to make recommendations to MassDEP on water management laws and regulations and their implementation.  However, the agency intentionally did not convene the Committee for the past five months, and then announced this decision as final without any opportunity for Advisory Committee input.  

This startling decision by the Patrick Administration reverses state policy under five prior governors, which held that protecting a river's "safe yield" included leaving at least some water in a river to sustain fish and other river life.  DEP's new interpretation essentially says that all the water in Massachusetts rivers should be available for water withdrawals. DEP's actions also conflict with a successful court case in which CRWA represented the Ipswich River Watershed Association and argued that withdrawals authorized by DEP exceed the safe yield of the Ipswich River basin. The 2007 Superior Court ruling ordered DEP to redetermine the safe yield of the Ipswich basin.

Click here to read the press release on the resignation.

Photo: The Charles River in Newton/Wellesley (at Cordingly Dam) in 2007, during low flow conditions

2) Draft Upper/Middle Charles Nutrient TMDL

After more than five years of work under contract to MA DEP, CRWA has completed a draft of the Upper/Middle Charles River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Phosphorus. A TMDL establishes a maximum amount of pollution that a water body can accept and still meet water quality standards. The TMDL serves as the technical and regulatory basis for developing more detailed local implementation plans designed to find, prioritize, and address specific sources of phosphorus pollution throughout the watershed and restore the water quality in the Charles River.

MA DEP will host a public meeting to discuss the Draft TMDL on Thursday, October 29 from 4-7pm at the Hunnewell Building, Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley. Click here to read the complete public meeting announcement from MA DEP (PDF).

Click here to learn more about CRWA's TMDL work.

3) Champions of the Charles gala a success

On October 2, more than 200 people gathered on the shores of the Charles River to celebrate Douglas Foy, a dedicated environmental advocate, who was honored by CRWA as a "Champion of the Charles". The "Champion of the Charles" designation recognizes individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions in protecting the Charles River. Guests included Lt. Governor Kerry Healy, illustrious rowing coach Harry Parker, and Directors of many local environmental organizations.

Many thanks to event sponsors Mirant, New England Biolabs, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Vanhasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. and Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation.

Read more about the event in the October 11 Westwood Tab.

4) Rail~Volution conference, Oct. 29 - Nov. 1

'Rail~Volution: Building Livable Communities with Transit' is a national conference for people from all perspectives who believe strongly in the role of land use and transit as equal partners in the quest for greater livability and greater communities. Rail~volution 2009 will be held in Boston, and CRWA's Urban Restoration Specialist, Pallavi Mande, will be part of a panel workshop on Friday afternoon . Click here for more information and to register.

5) Greening the City conference, Nov. 6 - 8

Join more than 150 urban environmental leaders from throughout New England  to explore key strategies for fostering inspired and innovative urban environmental leadership. CRWA is one of the featured presenters. 'Greening the City: Fostering Inspired and Innovative Leadership for Just and Sustainable Urban Communities' is being sponsored by Lesley University and MassAudubon. Click here for more information and to register.